#happy new year songs 2024

[ohnolara]

Last art of 2024! 💫

**ugly sobbing**

[lgbtpopcult]

What cool WLW projects do we know are coming in 2024?

Drive-Away Dolls

Arguably the most important representation of the year comes from a movie directed by one of the Coen brothers. Ethan Coen directs this wacky comedy that is very much in style for him.

Synopsis:

This comedy caper follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.

Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

A game had to be added to this list and here it is, the best one. From the creators who gave us Life is strange. Lost Records: Bloom and Rage tells the story of four friends who experience a transformative summer in 1995. After 27 years of no contact, Nora, Swann, Autumn, and Kat are reunited by fate and forced to confront the long-buried secret that made them agree to never speak again all those years ago. From the teaser alone it is obvious at least two of them dated.

Pluto

A Thai gl from GMMTV, known for its successful Thai dramas. The story is the telenovela cliche we've always wanted. Two girls in love. One gets in an accident and her twin takes her place to find out who was behind her accident, the other girl is blind. The twin has to fake being the real one so has to be in a relationship with the blind girl and of course falls in love with her. Match made in fanfic heaven.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

It was announced so long ago people are getting frustrated. However, with both a writer and a director now attached to the project, and the strikes over, we have every reason to believe we will finally get to see the hit novel, that centers the love story between two closeted Hollywood actresses, come to life. Whether you loved the novel or were indifferent and didn't see what the fuss was about, it is a very successful wlw romance and we want to see it on screen!

The Paying Guests

The director that brought us Carol adapting a book by the author of Fingersmith? Yes please!

Speaking to Indiewire, Haynes revealed he’s developing an adaptation of Sarah Waters’ 2014 novel The Paying Guests. “It’s a three-part limited series that would need to be a British production, but it’s a really great novel.” Set in post-WWI London, the drama is part lesbian love story and part murder mystery following a down-and-out widow and her daughter, the latter taking up a relationship with one of their lodgers. Waters also wrote Fingersmith, which was adapted into The Handmaiden by Park Chan-wook.

NCIS Hawaii season 3

One of our favorite pairings of last year, Kate and Lucy are the main couple of their show and they carry it well. They look good together, have progress and evolution in their relationship and have fun working together.

The Secret of Us

Thai channel CH3 is expected to hit us strong with this Thai gl. CH3 is big in Thailand so this one is a big deal. The story is the typical exes meet again trope and it's magnificent. It centers Doctor Fahlada, nicknamed Doctor Angel. She is trying to hide the pain after being abandoned by the woman she loved. But then...by chance that woman comes back into her life.

Whisper Me a Love Song

Our resident anime entry has to be Whisper me a love song. Based on a manga it is the story of Himari Kino. On the first day of entering high school, Himari Kino "falls" for her senior, Yori Asanagi, whom she watched singing with a band at the welcome party for new students. When Himari confesses her admiration to Yori, Yori misinterprets Himari's feelings as romantic love. However, before Yori realizes, she comes to fall for Himari anyway, and promises to win her affections for real.

Bad Sisters season 2

Bad Sisters is one of the best reviewed and hilarious shows on this list. Coming back for a season 2 was inevitable. Bibi, the lesbian sister, will keep entertaining us in 2024.

Station 19 season 7

One of the most enduring shows and wlw couples on TV are coming back for a season 7! That is a lot of seasons but Maya and Carina do still have that spark.

About Galaxy The Series

Part of the gl renaissance that is expected to go full force next year, this series is already hugely popular among Asian romance fans.

Synopsis:

‘About Galaxy’ is based on author Zezeho’s yuri of the same name, with a Thai title of “มูลค่าดาวล้านดวง”. The story revolves around Hong Yok, a designer who has a big scar on her face which led her to hide away from the public due to her inferiority complex. But something changed in her life when she met Note, a woman she was measuring clothes, and realized she is the same person who gave her that huge scar! However, despite the incident, she doesn’t outright despise her, and instead… feels safe. What will happen to the two women?

My Ex-Friend's Wedding

Kay Cannon ("Blockers") will direct from a script co-written by Taylor Jenkins Reid? Staring a group of friends trying to stop their friend from getting married? And one of them is queer? We're all in!

Arcane (Season 2)

It seems like forever since we first watched Arcane but we're definitely looking forward to season 2. Needs no introduction.

Dream the Series

We already have enough Asian dramas in this list but we couldn't leave out one of the most anticipated gl, Dream. The story is that of a woman that sees a girl in her dreams every night only to meet her in real life. While in real life they are friends in her dreams they do much more. She thinks her friend doesn't know about that what she doesn't know is that she also remembers everything they do in their dreams.

Harley Quinn the Animated Series season 5

Another season of our favorite criminal duo Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy? Yes please and thank you. These two, and this particular iteration of them, might be the best representation American television has ever given us.

Chaser Game W

Chaser Game W is the first gl produced by TV Tokyo so it has a historic significance for the advancement of representation for queer women in Japan. First episode airs January 8. Based on manga series "Chaser Game" written by Hiroshi Matsuyama & illustrated by Yukitaro Matsuyama

The story:

synopsis: Itsuki has been working in the "Dynamic Dream" game company for five years and is now appointed as the lead for a big Japanese-Chinese collaboration project, which she is fully motivated to work on. However, it turns out the Chinese company team is led by her ex, Fuyu, whom she one-sidedly broke up with back in university! After breaking up with Fuyu, Itsuki never dated anyone else and chose to focus on her work, all while not coming out to her family and coworkers... But when her ex-girlfriend suddenly appeared in front of her, her feelings immediately started to sway. Meanwhile, Fuyu always resented Itsuki for breaking up with her without saying why. She takes charge of the project and pushes impossible tasks onto Itsuki. While Fuyu plots her revenge, Itsuki is rekindling her unrequited love. What will the outcome be for these two opposites?

Vigil season 2

The first couple of episodes of Vigil season 2 will technically be shown in December 2023 (in the UK only) but we'll basically be able to watch it beginning 2024 and we're looking forward to it!

Several upcoming TV shows and movies have cast actors that make it obvious they'll have lesbian and bi characters but until we know whether the representation will be enough to be worth watching we're holding off on making that other, more elaborate, list.

[idliketochill]

Since it’s the night of the 31st in Japan here’s to one last piece for 2023!

[queenmabcreates]

My favorite memory from 2024 just happened to be on my birthday. 💙 I love him so very much!

[enjoliquej]

O Star of wonder, star of night

Star with royal beauty bright

Westward leading, still proceeding

Guide us to thy Perfect Light

🎄Merry Christmas🎄 And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[canyousonicme]

[disaster-delia]

Happy New Years everyonee!!!

2024! and I'm still stuck in 2022 :)

What was the song you last listened to in 2023? Mine was 3 S' by MSI

Tagging: @angeldiscovery @bebemoon @br3akfestattiffanys @bluehues-forever @docecoelhinha @elissbabby @fairyfii @floralsandstrawberries @i-know-you-wanna-kiss-me @izzy444angel @luvyass777 @princessacademia @prissypixie @unforgettable-sensations @xtiitaniia @yourgirlrey

[hiso03]

Headcanon (It's more like a scenario I created because I like the song).

On one occasion Hal had to travel to Mexico on a mission, while he was at one of the country's traditional fairs, he decided to enter the auditorium full of people under the pretext of "gathering information".

He manages to sneak in among so many people and somehow or other ends up with a pretty decent view of the stage, at first he continues trying to locate one of the people he was directed to while cursing Kyle for not agreeing to go with him.

He keeps moving through the crowd when he hears a particular song that catches his attention completely, forcing him to stop and stand there until the song ends and decides to continue with his mission, everything turns out successfully that night despite getting a few bumps and scrapes.

He returns to the Watchtower gives a quick report and leaves Diana and Clark to argue with Bruce about the next move they were planning to make.

A couple of days pass and to his surprise, he can't get the tune out of his head.

At first he tries to play it down and moves on, but Hal is weak in the face of doubt and one day while alone in the surveillance room decides to put an end to his torture. He takes out his cell phone and writes down what little he could understand and remember of the song in the hope of finding it.

To his bad luck Kyle passes by and hears a noise that awakens his curiosity. That's when he peeks into the room thinking maybe Jaime, Jessica or someone else was there, but to his surprise the one he ends up finding is Hal.

They both freeze when they see each other, but Kyle can't help but laugh when he hears the song in the background, making fun of Hal while he doesn't understand what his friend is laughing about until Kyle starts explaining the lyrics to him.

When Kyle starts talking to him as the song talks about someone who is in love and that the love he feels has made him "shine", the person in love constantly talks about how much his loved one glows and how beautiful his smile is; using a hundred cheesy phrases to describe the lyrics that inevitably lead Hal to think of Barry, his best friend.

So when he arrives on earth the first thing he does is go to Barry's house to look up the translation of the song on Barry's laptop and he can't help but blush as he reads each word and sees the image of Barry smiling at him over and over again in his head.

From that moment on he lasts several nights listening to the song on loop and being unable to look Barry in the eyes to the concern of his best friend. (This leads to a stupid misunderstanding where Barry thinks Hal is mad at him for something he did and the poor guy spends the next few weeks recapping every interaction to figure out what he did wrong).

When Hal finds Kyle again, Hal doesn't hesitate for a second to blame him for being unable to look Barry in the eye.

Kyle just laughs at him.

Lyrics: "You shine and shine so pretty. And we shine together between eyelashes.

Divine, divine smile"

The song is longer and prettier, if anyone wants to look it up, it's called: "Brillas" by Leon Larregui.

(I made the video last year after a friend of mine attended a concert of this singer. And I had never listened carefully to the lyrics until that day she posted it and I don't know why, but I immediately thought of Hal and Barry.)

[sesamestreep]

New Taylor Swift prompts! 16, Matt/Foggy

16. I’ve missed you all this time (from this prompt list) I don't know what this is, but it's technically set in the 60s, even though I did not make that explicitly clear anywhere in the text and it serves no purpose beyond just...vibes. I mostly just wanted to write silly new year’s fic, don’t worry about historical accuracy or world-building, everyone be cool! happy 2024, you silly and sultry geese! on ao3 here 🥂✨

Matt can still hear the noise of the party, barely dampened even when he's several rooms removed. He’d be able to hear it from the lobby of the building, truth be told, but here he can still make out conversations without having to focus that hard. He tries to direct his senses somewhere else—somewhere with less overlapping chatter and clinking glasses and shuffling feet over plush carpets—and breathe deep, so that maybe he can regain some equilibrium and hopefully go back to the party in a few minutes and act normal. It’s almost midnight, after all, and who goes to a New Year’s Eve party just to ditch out before midnight?

“Matthew Augustus Murdock,” a voice calls out from the far end of the paneled hallway.

“Not my middle name,” Matt says, smiling, “as you already know.”

“But wouldn’t it be better if it was?” Foggy asks, as he slides down to sit next to Matt. 

“Yes, I imagine I’d have lived a much easier and more successful life, if only my middle name was…what was it again?”

“Albert,” Foggy says, “or something. Who cares?”

“Good point,” Matt says, pressing his shoulder into Foggy’s happily. “How’d you find me?”

“I used the one and only superpower God graced me with: I’m like a homing pigeon for you specifically. I always know where to find you. It’s eerie, frankly, and damned useless, but—“

“Not to me,” Matt interjects, too readily. “I mean, for what it’s worth.”

Foggy nods, his overly long hair that he keeps meaning to get cut rasping over his shirt's stiff collar as he does. “That’s a good point.”

“I make those occasionally.”

“Occasionally,” Foggy repeats in a comically shrill, tiny voice, like he’s doing an impression of a cartoon mouse, for whatever reason. He’s a little drunk, clearly, which Matt could tell from the way he’s talking and the way he’s moving and the way he smells and, well, that’s probably enough evidence. 

“If I’m ever in trouble, I know who to call,” Matt says, which is maybe too honest, but Foggy doesn’t have to know that.

“You wouldn’t even have to call, Matt,” Foggy replies, solemnly grasping his shoulder. “If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll know and I’ll come running.”

“I would pay real money to see you actually run anywhere.”

“You’d have to, my man. I imagine it would take a massive breakthrough in science for you to see anything at all, and those things tend to cost a pretty penny,” Foggy says, grandly. “And also, on a much more serious note, go fuck yourself.”

Matt laughs and collapses against Foggy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I just know how much you hate running.”

“Which means you’ve entirely missed the inherent capital-R romanticism of me offering to do it for you! Classic Murdock. Absolute philistine behavior. I should expect it by now.”

“Your gallantry is wasted on me,” Matt agrees, still doing that thing of being too honest.

“I know,” Foggy sighs, theatrically, “and yet, here I am.”

“Why are you here, anyway?”

“Missed you, came looking. Same as ever.”

“Aw,” Matt says, leaning into his side even more. “You’re right, I really don’t deserve you.”

“I never said that. You said that,” Foggy says, poking him. “But anyway, I lied and the real answer to your question is that I got tired of girls coming up to me and asking where my handsome friend had got to.”

Matt knows two things with a decent degree of certainty: Foggy hadn’t been lying when he gave his first answer (Matt would have heard it in his heartbeat and likely noticed any other number of tells that Foggy has when he does lie, besides) and that no one would have had to ask him to go looking for Matt after he disappeared. His joke about homing pigeon-like tendencies is more truthful than either of them would like to acknowledge. When Matt goes missing—as he very frequently does at these types of things—Foggy always comes to find him. Matt’s been doing this since way before he met Foggy—having overly heightened senses does not make crowded social functions more manageable in general—but he can probably admit that he does it more now that he knows someone will come looking for him.

He also knows that girls like Foggy a lot more than Foggy thinks they do. He’s always talking about how girls seek him out to get in with Matt, but Matt doesn’t really believe that. There have been a few girls, here and there, certainly enough that Foggy’s right to be a little paranoid about it, who have turned their sights from Foggy to Matt, which on top of being unkind is just bad business sense. Anyone with a brain in their head would see that Foggy’s the better option of the two of them. And Matt’s got plenty of flaws, but he’d certainly never take up with anyone who hurt his best friend, so it doesn’t work out the way anyone hopes it will, anyway, when they do. Still, he's sure Foggy could have found a nice girl to keep him entertained until Matt got back to the party, if he put his mind to it, and that maybe he'd just been looking for an excuse to duck out himself when someone asked about Matt.

“This is where I got to,” Matt says, with a slightly pathetic shrug.

“Who says I meant you?” Foggy asks, absently. “I have other friends that are handsomer than you!”

“Not only do you not have a single handsomer friend in all the world,” Matt says, belatedly unsure if ‘handsomer’ is even a word, but otherwise too confident to turn back, “you don’t even have another friend at this party.”

“I’m exceedingly charming, Matthew,” Foggy over-enunciates. “Everyone at this party is my new best friend.”

Matt loops his arm through Foggy’s and leans his head back against the wall. “Sounds like I’ve got a lot of competition.”

“You’re not having fun?” Foggy asks, the change of topic so sudden and his tone so unexpectedly serious that Matt has a brief moment of confusion that he means with this joke they’ve got going. It takes a second to realize he means at the party in general.

“It’s fancy.”

“Too fancy, you mean…”

“You know I don’t go in for all this stuff,” Matt says, shrugging. 

“Like I do, you mean?” Foggy asks, lightly, even though Matt can feel him warming with embarrassment. 

“Like I used to,” Matt clarifies, and trusts his meaning to be clear.

“Right,” Foggy says, and the tone in his voice is the one he uses exclusively when he refers to Matt’s ex-girlfriend from junior year who almost caused him to drop out. “Fair enough, I suppose.”

“You can head back. Really, I don’t mind. I just need a few more minutes.”

“No, you’re right. It’s…a bit stuffy, isn’t it?” Foggy muses. “I mean, I didn’t even know people still had apartments like this, outside of, well, the Rockefellers.” 

The apartment belongs to the parents of one of their friends from law school and the only reason they have free rein over the place is because the parents are vacationing in Aspen with friends. Even without being able to see it, Matt can tell it’s a swanky place. The rug he’s currently sitting on is so plush that he can basically sink his entire hand into it. Every table he passed on his way to this hiding place smelled so strongly of Pine-Sol that there has to be a maid on staff, if not a team of them. He’s fairly certain this random hallway he discovered is actually a back passage to the kitchens, so the servants don’t have to be seen coming and going. He's not sure if he asked their host about it that they'd even know it existed. And Matt’s shoes, as well as most of his clothes, are secondhand.

“You were having fun until I made you feel bad,” Matt says, tucking his chin onto Foggy’s shoulder and trying to look contrite.

“No, I mean—I like having you around, Matt. You keep me honest,” Foggy laughs. “Two and a half years of law school, four years at an Ivy before that, I think I’ve just made peace with having to go to parties in uncomfortable clothes and to make conversation with people I don’t really like. I don’t think I’d call it fun, but it’s a social life of some kind, I suppose.”

“We should have gone to Josie’s,” Matt says, holding onto him too tightly, even with the excuse of a few drinks.

Foggy snorts, thinking of the beloved dive bar they sneak off to in Hell’s Kitchen whenever they can, whenever they’re home. It’s only a matter of blocks to get there, but sometimes, at school, it feels farther away than all that.

“I don’t dare imagine the caliber of our prospects for a kiss at midnight there,” Foggy says, with an exaggerated shudder.

“Can’t be any worse than our prospects here,” Matt replies. 

Foggy whistles, low, under his breath. “You’re going to be disappointing a lot of nice girls with that kind of talk, Murdock!”

“Better to disappoint them now than later,” Matt says, fully burying his face in Foggy’s shoulder now. He gets like this when he drinks. Foggy's used to it.

“Oh, that’s right. You don’t do the whole ‘going steady’ thing anymore,” Foggy says, leaning in conspiratorially. “You’re too damaged and that means you’re never going to get married, so you’d rather not lead anyone on.”

“You say that like it’s not true,” Matt whispers back.

“It isn’t true, you moron!” Foggy laughs. “One day, some beautiful girl is going to turn your head so quick, you’ll have neck problems for the rest of your life!”

“Sounds uncomfortable,” Matt says.

“And I’ll be there,” Foggy continues, like Matt didn’t even speak, “laughing.”

“Well, as long as you’ll be there, Foggy.”

“Did I mention you’re a moron?”

“Yes. A few times now, in fact.”

“Then, I’ve done my duty.”

“And what about you?” Matt asks. “When’s somebody going to turn your head?”

“Somebody turns my head every goddamn day, it feels like,” Foggy grumbles. “The problem isn’t my head. It’s everybody else’s.”

“There’s plenty of girls who’d be more than happy to trap you in matrimony.”

“Hmm, well, I’m sure that’s true enough,” Foggy replies, thoughtfully. “I guess it’s more about finding someone you wouldn’t mind being trapped with.”

“And you haven’t found her yet, I take it?”

“No,” Foggy says, sadly. The girl he dated for most of their sophomore year—the one everyone had been certain Foggy was going to end up marrying—had just gotten engaged last month. Foggy still wasn’t entirely over it, Matt was pretty sure.

“And you’re certain she’s not here?” Matt asks, encouragingly.

“Unlikely,” Foggy says. “None of the girls here would be caught dead with me in the daylight. One of them might be unscrupulous enough to let me kiss her at midnight, though.”

“So, go back,” Matt replies. “Find the girl in that room with the lowest standards and lay one on her!”

“I will if you will.”

“I don’t know this for sure, but I do have serious doubts that any girl in the room will let the both of us kiss her at midnight.”

“I meant, you should—you know what I meant!” Foggy exclaims, embarrassed again. 

“I was trying to be funny!”

“‘Trying’ being the operative word there…”

Matt sighs. “What’s the point of kissing someone at midnight when there’s almost no chance of seeing them ever again after tonight?”

“You’ve just described the point yourself! It’s just for fun, to start the year off right! There’s no pressure!” Foggy says, disbelieving. "What’s gotten into you? I thought zero expectations romance was your specialty!”

“Maybe I’m just not a New Year's kind of guy.”

Foggy hums thoughtfully. “Can I tell you my theory?”

“Your theory? About what?”

“About you, and New Year's, and all of that.”

“Oh. Sure. Go ahead.”

“I think you’re afraid,” Foggy says.

“Afraid?” Matt asks. “Of…New Year’s Eve?”

“You don’t want to participate in these silly little rituals, like kissing someone at midnight, because you’re secretly terrified that something good is going to happen to you, and then you won’t know what to do with yourself.”

“Really, Foggy. Be serious!”

“I am serious,” Foggy replies, casually. “You’re scared of being hit over the head with it again.”

“Hit over the head with what?”

“Love,” Foggy says, simply. “You felt it once and it nearly derailed your whole life, so now you avoid any situation where you might accidentally meet someone interesting or have more feelings than you’ve carefully rationed out for yourself for that particular day.”

Matt swallows, feeling utterly exposed. It’s not something he would have been able to say for himself an hour ago, but the words feel true to him coming from someone else. He doesn’t like anybody knowing him well enough to know all of that, though, and if it wouldn’t be so utterly obvious, he’d pull away from Foggy right now just to be safe. Like that would even help, he thinks reluctantly.

“You missed your calling not going into psychiatry, Foggy,” he says, stiffly, once he’s gathered his wits enough to form sentences.

Foggy’s hand, warm and a little damp, closes over Matt’s where it’s still resting on his arm. Matt wants nothing more than to flinch away from it, but he controls the urge in the interest of saving face.

“Don’t be mad at me,” Foggy says, quietly, like there’s a chance they might be overheard somehow and he wants Matt to be the only one who hears this. “I’m just trying to tell you that, in avoiding fun and frivolous things, you are not sparing yourself from being hit over the head. If you’re meant to get hit over the head, it’ll happen whenever and wherever Cupid so chooses. It’ll happen at the deli or the bank or while you’re waiting for the bus. Which means that the only thing you’re ultimately sparing yourself from is fun and frivolity, and that’s a stupid way to live your life. That’s all.”

“I think you just called me a moron again,” Matt says, weakly. He doesn’t know what else to say. The rest of it is...too much to consider.

“I called you stupid, actually, but I see your point.”

In the distance, Matt hears the noise of a crowd of people all simultaneously trying to shush each other, with limited success. He imagines even Foggy can hear it too a moment later when they all begin counting aloud.

“Last chance…” Matt says, tipping his head backwards in the direction of the room where everyone’s gathered.

“It doesn’t matter,” Foggy says, apropos of nothing, as far as Matt can tell. He’s about to ask what he means when Foggy continues, anyway. “I have someone who meets your criteria.”

“My criteria?”

“Yeah. You’ll only accept a kiss from someone you’ll see again after tonight, right?”

“Uh, I don’t think I said ‘only’, I just meant—”

“Too bad,” Foggy says, as the countdown reaches its conclusion. “Happy New Year.”

Matt’s halfway through formulating a question or an objection of some kind, which is the only reason he turns in Foggy’s direction at that moment. It’s clear from the noise of surprise Foggy makes that he absolutely had no intention of kissing Matt right on the mouth and was probably, in fact, aiming for his cheek, trying to be funny and charming after Matt was such a spoilsport about the whole kissing at midnight thing. If Matt hadn’t moved, there’s no doubt in his mind that that’s what Foggy would have done and then it would have been over and they’d already be laughing about it and moving on. But Matt did move and, even awkwardly off center, Foggy is kissing him on the mouth right now and they’re both just frozen like that, shocked and useless.

Matt doesn’t give himself much credit for genius. He’s reasonably smart, and can be even smarter if he applies himself to a subject and really studies up on it, but there’s plenty of people in any given room smarter than he is, most of the time. He has his moments, though, and this is one of them. He sees very clearly the two paths available to them. Down one, this moment stretches awkwardly and they allow it to become a source of discomfort and then outright pain that they'll avoid talking about for years, or maybe possibly forever. Regardless, it has the power to ruin their friendship and Matt simply can't abide that. Down the other, they don’t flinch from it and they don’t make it any stranger than it has to be and it becomes one weird but not fully objectionable moment in their long and storied relationship. They’re not going to trot it out as an anecdote at parties, sure, but they’re not going to become crazy about denying it happened either. If Matt can steer them in the direction of the latter, he thinks maybe it will all be okay, but it’s going to require him not to make matters worse. For whatever reason, the only way he can think to not do that is by kissing Foggy back.

It’s immediately apparent that, momentary genius or no, while it does not technically make things worse, it also does not make them better. Then again, Foggy makes a sort of interested noise as he feels Matt return the kiss, which Matt is infinitely better off for knowing about and having heard and being able to think about some other time when he’s alone preferably. 

They don’t take it any farther than just that. They’re not necking in some random person’s hallway or doing anything truly objectionable. They just stay there, mouths pressed together so that Matt can smell (and sort of taste) the champagne Foggy’s had and the last cigarette he smoked and a hint of that sugary gum he always chews, even though he hasn’t had a piece since before they came to the party. It mostly feels, more than anything else, like they’re breathing together and it’s not sexy the way wild, passionate groping in the dark can be, but it’s intimate in its own unique way. Matt, against his own better judgment, puts a hand on Foggy’s cheek, and he doesn't really know why beyond just really wanting to and that seems to be reason enough.

Foggy doesn’t try to slip his tongue into Matt’s mouth—despite the alarming reality that the moment Matt realizes that’s not what he’s doing, he also realizes he’d let him—or try to escalate matters one bit. His hand is still grasping Matt’s collar from when he first pulled him in, but his other one doesn’t roam. His lips, still pressed to Matt’s, only move to exert a little more pressure and to alter the angle at which they meet slightly. He takes precisely zero liberties and makes no effort to get fresh with him at all. It’s very gentlemanly, and Matt doesn’t know what to do with himself because it doesn’t feel awkward or fumbling at all. It feels like restraint, and once he knows that, everything is different.

The tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ reaches him from the other room, but it’s drowned out almost entirely by the sound of Foggy’s heartbeat in Matt’s ears. Foggy must hear it too, though, because he breaks their kiss with the worst sort of gentleness, pulling back only enough for them both to have space to breathe but not far enough that Matt can’t feel that breath on his face.

Matt traces his thumb over the curve of Foggy’s cheek before dropping his hand back down into his own lap and licks his lips as he slowly turns away. 

“Happy New Year,” he says, aiming for calm and unaffected and likely missing it by a lot.

“You too,” Foggy says, even though he already said it first. His heart is still beating too fast and too close and too loud for Matt to read his tone, which is too bad, because he’d really like to know how Foggy feels right now and if he feels anything like Matt does.

Because Matt feels like he’s been hit over the head.

✨

[therappundit]

***The Rap Pundit Picks: My Favorite Music of 2024***

2024: one of the greatest years for rap music in Hip-Hop history.

Agree or disagree, if we could separate the music and artists themselves from Hip-Hop culture in general (which depending on who you ask, may not be an acceptable option - and I do understand that), 2024 was filled with arguably the widest range of different styles that rap music has ever heard. From the traditional to the genre benders, from the thoughtful writers to the lucid vibers, to me the notion that "Hip-Hop is dead" just means you're failing to adapt your methods of finding new music.

2024 was a year that featured a new single from Nas & DJ Premier (and the promise of their long-awaited album collaboration), and the potential of a new JAY-Z album (by year's end, we are hearing far more concerning headlines), both of which, not too long ago, would be hovering near the top of the highest billed album expectations of the year. But by the end of 2024? Mostly forgotten. Yes, plenty of veterans like Snoop, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, and Common left their footprints in 2024, but over the past year, some significant waves were made from less celebrated sources.

Beneath the shadow of a historic feud between some of Hip-Hop's heavyweights, a tide-pool of exciting artists were releasing noteworthy music at a furious clip. Long since faded are the narrow lanes separating underground from mainstream, as are the traditional routes for "breaking through". Today you're more likely than ever to find a rap music fan that listens to Mach-Hommy and Playboi Carti than you are to find a rap fan that just listens to what's in heaviest circulation on Hot97. None of this is a new development, it's just becoming more of the reality all the time.

I don't know if my favorite music on these lists today will be in heavy rotation by this time next year, but I'm fairly certain most of these MCs and Producers will still be there in some capacity. There's so much to look forward to, from indy veterans to newer talent, I can't come close to naming everyone, but I feel like something would be missing from this list if I didn't give special recognition to artists like Previous Industries, Child Actor, J.U.S, Jay Cinema, dp0mmy, No Label, Cavalier, shemar, Mutant Academy, Maassai, Mike Shabb, Semiratruth, Spice Programmers, Reco, Halal Boys, Quelle Chris, Nappy Nina, Errol Holden, 7xvethegenius, Sideshow, Futurewave, HOODLUM, Conductor Williams, MIKE, Ox Omni, Jaeychino, Mach-Hommy, Black Chai, Wordsworth, Teller Bank$, Chuckyy, Rome Streetz, Boldy James, Earl Sweatshirt, Sleep Sinatra, Wiseboy Jeremy, Defcee, Wavy Da Ghawd, Myquale, Big Flowers, Blu, JUNE!, Sasco, Silky Southern, Phiik, Joshua Virtue/RAMA, LUNGS/Lonesword, August Fanon, Certified Trapper, Jeph Early, Nick Satchel, Stu Bangas, NEW AGE COLLECTIVE, Yonaa, Westside Gunn, Baby Stone Gorillas, Myles Clayton, Che Noir, BRISTACKZ, Tokyo Cigar, Knoweye, Noqh, Chow, Kadeem, Valee, Messiah Musik, AKAI SOLO, MESSIAH!, Bossman DLow, Rei The Imperial, Nino Paid, Reiiki APOLLO, Bub Rock, J Words, Navy Blue, Armand Hammer, Doechii, Rich Jones, Rapsody, Grafh, BabyChiefdoit, The Alchemist, YUNGMORPHEUS, Alexander Spit, Ol' Burget Beats, Ronday, TiaCorine, LaRussell, Jaysanityy, Chuck Strangers, CJ Fly, Ovrkast., Jiggs, STAR BANDZ, Pink Siifu, and Bruiser Wolf, Nolan The Ninja, and many, many more...for providing 2024 with some great reminders that Hip-Hop is still in good hands.

And R.I.P. to Ka, one of the greatest writers that the genre has ever scene.

I tried to only represent one release from each artist here, in an effort to represent as many different folks as possible; however, a lot of MCs released multiple projects this year, so if I felt like they had more than one release, and two of those releases were neck & neck with being their best work of the year, I tried to make room for both.

s/o to all of these artists for sharing so much great music with their fans, critics, and hopefully any soul that discovers them through lists like this one...and a toast to what we can only hope will be a happy & healthy New Year (we could certainly use it). 🙏

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*TOP SONGS*:

100. "Rerock The Hook" - Drakeo the Ruler feat. Icewear Vezzo

99. "CULLINAN GANG" - Nasaan feat. Icewear Vezzo

98. "Bear Fruit" - Kadeem feat. Rugby LoSport & FUNERAL Ant Bell

97. "Beverly Drive" - Erick The Architect

96. “Humpty” - Semiratruth

95. "Vertino" - Conway The Machine feat. Joey Bada$$

94. “Bonnet” - TiaCorine

93. "PANDURICANE" - Conductor Williams & Rei The Imperial

92. “BUMBO” - CJ Fly & Stoic

91. "live like this" - Jiles

90. "H.Y.B." - J. Cole feat. Bas & Central Cee

89. "Witness" - Certified Trapper

88. "Ray Wop" - Ray Vaughn

87. "30 (Freestyle)" - JID

86. "NOT FINE AT ALL" - Killian Fonlon

85. "Whqtthe" - Noqh feat. chasay, Kzoba & Jaysanityy

84. "Difference" - YN Jay feat. Tay B & Kash Doll

83. “Colors” - Remble feat. Mozzy & Stoneda5th

82. "HIGHJACK" - A$AP Rocky feat. Jessica Pratt

81. "Ya Don't Stop" - DJ Premier feat. Rick Ross, Big Sean & Lil Wayne

80. "9 LIVES" - R2R Moe

79. "A Damaged Wraith" - Vic Spencer feat. Rockness Monsta

78. "FREE SMURK, BIG EDDIE & CAM" - YTB Fatt

77. "Cruise Piff" - Jay Cinema & CHoW

76. “Super Rufus” - Rufus Sims & Billionaire Boyscout

75. "?" - Big Yavo

74. “THAT’S HARD” - Anycia feat. Cash Cobain

73. "SINCE THEY TOLD ME I'M A LEGEND" - Jeph Early & Gios4ma

72. "Bill Belichick" - Mg Sleepy feat. Bfb Da Packman & Myaap

71. "It's Us" - BabyFxce E feat. Luh Tyler

70. “place i rep” - Remy Banks

69. "Grandmother's Lessons" - Your Old Droog

68. "Doughboy Daisy" - WB Nutty feat. HBK Kid & Payroll

67. "ZYDECO" - Ronday

66. "HOO" - LIFEOFTHOM & Stoic

65. “Banded Up” - Chief Keef feat. Tierra Whack

64. "Hurry Up & Buy" - Bruiser Wolf

63. "Top Dawg" - Yonaa

62. "Killing Em'" - Reco feat. Gorgeous Jefe, Solute, Lord Ra & Ilxtus

61. "Still Praying" - Westside Gunn feat. Stove God Cooks, Benny The Butcher, Conway the Machine & Boldy James

60. “Rotation” - BagChaser Reke feat. 2Real

59. "See The Sunset" - Nick Satchel & dp0mmy

58. "Me vs Me" - Jaeychino & SlimeGetEm

57. "Memoriam pt. 2" - Sleep Sinatra & bloomcycle feat. Desde

56. "Local Anastasia" - Kenny Segal & K-The-I??? feat. Open Mike Eagle

55. "Days Before Juneteenth" - HALAL BOYS

54. "Omakase" - Nappy Nina & Swarvy feat. Maassai & Stas Thee Boss

53. "4Slime" - Young Nudy

52. "proper vertigo" - mynameisntjack feat. Sol ChYld

51. "Up Now" - Mustard feat. Lil Yachty, BlueBucksClan & 42 Dugg

50. “Black Girl” - Che Noir feat. Rapsody

49. “Penmanship” - Kooley High & Tuamie

48. "RIO FREE" - Rio Da Yung OG

47. "Water" - BRISTACKZ

46. “I.S.D.A.M.L.” - Boldy James & Whothehelliscarlo

45. “12:50 In New York” - Chuckyy

44. "Wrist Buss" - Myaap

43. "mikealstott" - Blvck Svm feat. eeryskies & Boldy James

42. "Trippin" - Bossman DLow

41. "Words2LiveBy" - El Cousteau feat. Earl Sweatshirt

40. "Complications" - Reiiki APOLLO

39. "Syrup Sandwiches" - Cordae feat. Joey Bada$$

38. “Type Shit” - Future & Metro Boomin feat. Travis Scott & Playboi Carti

37. “INFORMATION AGE” - No Label [Ahk Sair, Amiri Mikel, Yo OG, Funk Shway, buddy.not.bud]

36. “Custard Spoon” - Cavalier

35. "RENEE (MAY DAY)" - Sideshow

34. "Money Problems" - Nino Paid feat. Lil Gray

33. "Don't Do Drugs" - J.U.S. & Squadda B

32. “Curtis Jackson” - C Stunna feat. Skrilla

31. “Rocafella Chain” - Grafh feat. Freeway, Peedi Crakk & Memphis Bleek

30. “PAYMEAGRIP” - Ovrkast. & Cardo Got Wings

29. "Detroit" - Tee Grizzley feat. 42 Dugg

28. "From The Dirt" - Phiik & LUNGS feat. AKAI SOLO

27. "California Dream" - Ab-Soul feat. Vince Staples & Kamm Carson

26. “I’m G (OMG)” - Blu & Shafiq Husayn feat. Chuuwee & Born Allah

25. “SINCE I WAS LIL” - JasonMartin & DJ Quik feat. Curren$y, Bun B & Jay Worthy

24. "Short Stories" - Jawnino feat. MIKE

23. “LIBERATION” - Mutant Academy feat. Quelle Chris

22. “Pedal tha Ave” - Wiseboy Jeremy & Kirti Pandey

21. “DUMMY” - JUNECINEMA feat. RoBB, Chow & rivan

20. “Psalm” - 7xvethegenius feat. Jae Skeese

19. “MESCALINE” - LaRussell & CAM CORTEZ

18. "coolin fr" - Jaysanityy

17. "mukbang" - Nolan The Ninja feat. Fatboi Sharif

16. “Lost Angel” - Blu & Evidence

15. "Frosted Flake" - DJ Rude One feat. Valee

14. “Gank Move” - Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist feat. HitgirlLENA

13. “Dream Blunt Rotation” - Rich Jones & Sleep Sinatra/SINAI. feat. AJ Suede, Qari & J.U.S

12. "ALL OVER" - JUNE! feat. Israel Jones, $hyyguyy & Radicule.

11. “Zayre” - Previous Industries [Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, STILL RIFT]

10. “SONJE” - Mach-Hommy. feat. Hephzibah

9. “The Harder They Come” - YUNGMORPHEUS & Alexander Spit

8. "Yea Yea" - STAR BANDZ

7. "Sword Lilies" - Cavalier & Child Actor feat. Quelle Chris

6. “expensive piss” - shemar & Child Actor

5. "Collection Plate" - Ka

4. “Hey Now” -Kendrick Lamar feat. DODY6

3. "Sage" - Rome Streetz & Daringer feat. ScHoolboy Q

2. "Doves" - Armand Hammer feat. Benjamin Booker

1. "Free Jesus" - Mike Shabb

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*TOP ALBUMS*:

*Honorable Mention (absolutely belong in my top 50 as well, but this year was soooo deep)*...

Keep Holly Alive by Mutant Academy, The Grand Design by Philmore Greene, DREAMDROPDRAGON by AKAI SOLO, From Vallejo With Love by LaRussell & Cam Cortez, the First to Make Contact When We Dap by R.A.P. Ferreira & Fumitake Tamura, WATCH THE THRONE by Jaeychino, My Story Got Stories by Bruiser Wolf, The Tonite Show The Sequel by Curren$y & DJ.Fresh, Day Shift, Vol. 1 by Lil Tre, Pigmen In the Vitreous by Knoweye, Alchemy by Jay Cinema & Chow, All Infinite by Kooley High & Tuamie, Slant Face Killah by Conway The Machine, Personification by Maxo Kream, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU by JPEGMAFIA, Chiraq Mogul 2 by ZMONEY, Things I Should've Said When I Was Awake EP by Reiiki APOLLO, OTHERWISE A BLUR by blackchai & August Fanon, Marciology by Roc Marciano, Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii, OPERATION FLAMETHROWER by Conductor Williams & Rei The Imperial, Flint 2 Detroit by YN Jay, Being The Bigger Person Sucks by Vic Spencer

50. Zombie Love Kensington Paradise by Skrilla

49. REVELATOR by ELUCID

48. The Pride & Glory by Teller Bank$ & Ed Glorious

47. CHROMAKOPIA by Tyler, The Creator

46. Above All by Myquale

45. Keep Me Company by Skyzoo

44. Brown in America by HOODLUM

43. Pinball by MIKE & Tony Seltzer

42. Two Kings by Stu Bangas & Wordsworth

41. BLUE LIPS by ScHoolboy Q

40. BTTRSWT by NEW AGE COLLECTIVE

39. Transatlantic Shit 2 by Spice Programmers

38. Black Box: JOSHUA IS DEAD by Joshua Virtue

37. SOLACE by Marco Plus

36. A Foresaken Lover's Plea by Chuck Strangers

35. Still Praying by Westside Gunn

34. MMCHT by Nickelus F

33. Save The Bees by Big Flowers & Messiah Musik

32. CHUPACABRA by JasonMartin & DJ Quik

31. Black & Whites by Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist

30. Nothing Is My Favorite Thing by Nappy Nina & Swarvy

29. CINE by Cavalier & Child Actor

28. IS THIS A SAFE SPACE? by Psalm One & Optiks

27. The Skeleton Key by Roc Marciano & The Alchemist

26. DECON$TRUCT!ON by Maassai

25. Deathtape 2: We Gon’ Need Each Other by Quelle Chris, Cavalier, and Denmark Vessey

24. This Too Shall Pass by Yo OG

23. Black Blues Brothers by HALAL BOYS

22. Soul Burger by Ab-Soul

21. Halfway There by dp0mmy

20. Bag Man Julio by Jaysanityy

19. 74: Out of Time by Ol’ Burger Beats

18. Carrot Season by Phiik & LUNGS

17. Memory(ummm) by Sleep Sinatra & bloomcycle

16. Almighty So 2 by Chief Keef

15. WAKING UP AND CHOOSING VIOLENCE by YUNGMORPHEUS & Alexander Spit

14. i'd rather not by Nolan The Ninja

13. PERSEVERANCE by Jay Cinema & JUNE! as JUNECINEMA

12. Death of Deuce - 7xvethegenius

11. Sour Dub by Rich Jones & SINAI.

10. F.U.N. T.O.Y. by Sideshow

9. GNX by Kendrick Lamar

8. 3rd Shift by J.U.S. & Squadda B

7. Los Angeles by Blu & Evidence

6. Different Type Time by Cavalier

5. Service Merchandise by Previous Industries [Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, Still Rift]

4. sunscreen by shemar & Child Actor

3. The Thief Next to Jesus by Ka

2. #RICHAXXHAITIAN by Mach-Hommy

1. Sewaside III by Mike Shabb

See you in the '2-5...

[coconut530]

Wrap it up!!

Thank you Jewel Ham

[lock-my-feelings-in-a-jar]

[sleepy-time-t]

Only cool people respond to the end of the year survey 😗

[nums-bird]

My 2024 favs but I only consume media

Music(Albums)

1.Puberty 2 by Mitski

2.Lush by Mitski

3.Yaelokre series

6.literally everything from epic the musical😭

7.The rise and fall of the Midwest princess by chapell roan

8.Vending machine of love by The Stupendium

9.Lungs by Florence + the machine

10.Superache by Conan gray (literally been obsessed with it for 2 years,)

Media

1.Avatar the last Airbender (og cartoon)

2.Dungeon meshi(probably my favorite anime this year)

3.Haikyuu, specifically cuz I rewatched the first season and watched the movie(no one is shocked)

4.Any sonic franchise tbh(prime,sonic x,boom,sonic 3)

5.Transformers media(I blame transformers one)

6.Ultraman rising(I MISS THEM SM😭😭)

7.Deadpool and Wolverine (def my favorite movie this year)

8.The wild robot (literally my favorite animated movie rn)

9.Alien stage(does this count since I've known about it from last year but never watched them??)

10.Arcane(literally took up my entire November)

Fanfiction

I'm prefixing by saying that I have literally just been reading sakuatsu this year

[hauntswitch]

Not to be overdramatic or what have you, but I did indeed make it through this year if it kills me